Standoff
The climactic Mexican Standoff in the epic 1966 movie "The Good, the Bad, The Ugly"
In the epic 1966 Spaghetti Western film "Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo" aka The Good, the Bad, The Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood (Blondie), Lee Van Cleef (Angel Eyes), Eli Wallach (Tuco), director Sergio Leone meticulously crafted the final standoff, known as the "Mexican Standoff," to maximize tension and drama.
Filmed at the Sad Hill Cemetery near Burgos, Spain, the scene features expansive circular camera movements and intense close-ups to emphasise the three characters' psychological states.
Leone's collaboration with composer Ennio Morricone was integral; they developed the score before filming, allowing the music to influence the scene's pacing and emotion. Ennio Morricone's score for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is celebrated for its innovative use of instruments and sounds, including gunfire, whistling, and yodelling. The main theme employs different instruments to represent the three protagonists: the flute for Blondie, the ocarina for Angel Eyes, and human voices for Tuco.
Click here to listen to the epic movie score by Ennio Morricone and here to see the Danish National Symphony Orchestra perform it live
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis: The Great Standoff between USSR and USA that brought the world to the brink of World War III
The two superpowers plunged into one of their biggest Cold War confrontations after the pilot of an American U-2 spy plane piloted by Major Richard Heyser making a high-altitude pass over Cuba on October 14, 1962, photographed a Soviet SS-4 medium-range ballistic missile being assembled for installation.
During the ensuing Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores.
In a TV address on October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy (1917-63) notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralise this perceived threat to national security.
Following this news, many people feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war. However, disaster was avoided when the U.S. agreed to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s (1894-1971) offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba. Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey.
Source: https://www.history.com/articles/cuban-missile-crisis
Comments
Sometimes maniacal, sometimes mellow
God Bless you Kieran. ❤️
( A very dear friend on WhatsApp)
They say a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved, whereas a joy shared is a joy doubled.
These paintings bring me so much joy, how can I not share it with the people who bring joy into my life
Truly you both are such dear friends. We met over 30 years ago and though life took us our separate ways, both of you remain very dear to Sandra and me.
We often think of the fun times filled with joyous laughter (you have the most infectious laughter straight from your heart), scrumptous food and sparkling conversation are a hallmark of our fun times in Calgary
Stay blessed knowing that the two of you are truly loved. - Kieran